As Glendale nursing home's deaths rise, it challenges others: Make your COVID-19 cases public

A Glendale nursing home that reported nearly 70 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths earlier this month has seen the outbreak spread to nearly 100 cases and 16 deaths.

Rather than hide the coronavirus outbreaks from the public, as some long-term care facilities have done, Glencroft Center for Modern Aging said in a statement Monday that officials will release data daily. 

“By releasing this data we hope it inspires others to do so and encourage our industry to be as transparent as possible,” said Scott McClintock, Glencroft’s chief strategy officer.

Glencroft's decision to release its data voluntarily comes as the Arizona Department of Health Services has refused to provide the names of nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks, arguing the information is confidential and would be bad for business.

At the same time, nursing home outbreaks continue to grow. As of mid-May, about half the total COVID-19 deaths statewide were connected to long-term care facilities, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of data from the five counties that have confirmed any such cases. Long-term care facilities include nursing homes, assisted living, hospice and rehabilitation centers.

In Maricopa County, the number is even higher. As of Sunday, 223 deaths came from long-term care — 72% of all coronavirus deaths in the state's most populous county.

The federal government as of May 8 has started requiring Medicare-approved skilled nursing homes to report weekly data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, and plans to release in late May the same information the state refuses to make public.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Administrator Seema Verma said in a Monday news conference, "our plan is to post that information on the (CMS) nursing home website, and then people will be able to have that information for each nursing home."

One caveat to the federal data: It doesn't include assisted-living facilities, which have also been hotstpots for coronavirus outbreaks.

Cases spread throughout nursing home

As of May 15, Glencroft reported 56 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, among residents and 42 cases among employees. 

The positive cases, once thought to be limited to the skilled nursing unit, have spread to other places. Eleven deaths were in the skilled nursing facility; five were in assisted living. No employees have died.

With 1,600 residents and employees, Glencroft, 8611 N 67th Ave., is the largest nursing, assisted and independent living campus in Arizona.

Administrators have so far arranged testing for more than 500 residents and more than 320 employees. Last week, Gov. Doug Ducey announced plans to test all residents and staff at the state's 147 skilled nursing homes, following national recommendations by the federal government.

State won't reveal outbreak locations

Locations of the cases testing has confirmed, though, are mostly unknown.

The Arizona Republic has documented at least six nursing homes or assisted-living facilities in Arizona with multiple COVID-19 cases and deaths. There are likely many more.

Because the state has refused to release the names of nursing homes with outbreaks, the information emerges piecemeal. Some nursing home administrators will refuse comment to the media on outbreaks. Others will take the opposite approach, voluntarily providing data to the media when contacted about an outbreak. 

Sometimes, family members of residents will provide reporters with the daily email or text notifications they receive from the facility that detail numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Nursing homes are required under state and federal regulations to provide notifications of confirmed COVID-19 cases to residents and their guardians. But senior advocacy groups, such as AARP Arizona, have argued the names of long-term care facilities with coronavirus outbreaks should be widely available. Such information would be useful to families who are looking to place relatives in care settings, senior advocates say. 

Earlier this month, a coalition of news organizations including The Arizona Republic, ABC15, Channel 12, CBS 5 and 3TV filed a special action in Maricopa County Superior Court to obtain that information, arguing the data are a public record. A hearing in the case is set for May 27.

Nursing home residents are especially susceptible to the coronavirus because of their advanced age and underlying health problems.

More than 26,000 residents and staff have died from outbreaks at the nation’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities, according to an Associated Press survey based on state health departments and media reports.

The pandemic's devastating toll prompted the federal government to form an independent commission to assess the safety and quality of nursing homes. The commission is expected to analyze the response and provide recommendations that could eventually become guidance or new requirements. 

Do you know of a new coronavirus outbreak at an Arizona nursing home or assisted-living facility? Contact the reporter at anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8072. Follow her on Twitter @anneryman.

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